Wednesday, 16 July 2014

From the Toarcian to the Callovian Pt.3

The following day I decided to visit Whitby Museum and do a
little scouting ahead of the next field trips. The museum is situated quite
central in Whitby and is fairly well signposted but be aware that it is
situated at the top of Chubb Hill which, if ascending from the sea front, can
be quiet steep for those with mobility issues – or those who are just plain
unfit.

The museum charges a modest entry fee of £5 and the museum
not only caters for the fossil enthusiast but covers all aspects of Whitby’s
local history which includes whaling, the local textile and agricultural
industries, luminaries such as Captain James Cook and Dracula author Bram
Stoker as well as a comprehensive natural history collection. But I came to
look at the fossil collection and this is the first section you come to as you
walk through the doors on the left hand side.

I was initially struck by how small the display area was
considering the long history of collecting in the Whitby area and just how many
specimens of note that had been found that we, as palaeontologists, were
familiar with. But they did cram a lot of material into this area and there
were specimens everywhere, the walls and cabinets were filled and there were even
specimens tucked under the display cabinets for those of us who tend to look in
these hidden caches of small museums.

Some of the panel mounts were of particular interest and I
spent quite a bit of time with a specimen of “Teleosaurus chapmani” which is synonymouswith Steneosaurus bollensis and,
as a result, was useful for comparing anatomy with some teleosaurid material we
have been collecting elsewhere. Also
of interest was the similarly panel mounted “Plesiosaurus propinquus” which, from today’s perspective, is so
plainly a rhomaleosaurid that it is difficult to perceive it as anything else.
But then we have to remember, that at the time this was first described, there
was so much uncertainty, so many unknowns that it was clearly acceptable to
label all long necked plesiosaurians as Plesiosaurus
or similar – even if the skull was larger and much more robust than the
standard plesiosaurian model.

Ichthyosaurs are well represented in the museum and taxa
represented include Ichthyosaurus crassimanus,
I. acutirostris and I. platydon and
there are several other vertebrate specimens as well. Unfortunately, many of the older
specimens have suffered because of poor collecting methods and both primitive
and unnecessary preparation techniques. I am not criticising our collecting
forefathers you understand but merely pointing out that, by today’s standards,
many fine specimens have been compromised by these older practices.

That being said, many specimens have undergone rigorous
reconsolidation and preparation over the last twenty years or so and are in a much better condition now but
they still have to be regularly monitored since pyrite decay is a constant
threat. All in all, Whitby Museum houses a fine collection of specimens and I
would heartily recommend it to you.

I was not permitted to take photographs on this occasion but
a quick Google search will enable you to see plenty of images of the museum and
its exhibits. As an example, click here
for a quick guide.

After my visit to the museum the sun shone and I decided to
check out the quaint coastal village of Staithes, some 12 miles north of
Whitby. You have to park at the top of the village and walk down to the harbour
since there is extremely limited access but
it is also worth noting that this is also a very steep climb back – especially
if you have a sack full of fossils. Staithes is another collecting location
that is well known for its ammonites so I thought it worth checking out
although I had already been tipped off previously that it was producing very
little lately.

It was, unfortunately, high tide but I still decided to take
a look to see what I could see. As I rounded the promontory from the harbour
the tide was approaching its peak and there was very little coast for me to
walk on. But even with the limited exposure available I could still make out belemnites
and shell in the mudstones and I then decided to walk around to the other side
of the harbour and check out the sea cliffs from there.

As I walked below a noisy gull colony and made my way out on
the sea wall, the ancient sea cliffs rose in front of me. I could clearly see
the headland at Penny Nab which is where most ammonites are recovered from and,
even at high tide, it all looked rather tempting and I decided to return the
following morning to prospect. Before I left I took advantage of the Cod and
Lobster Inn, sat in the sun and sampled a fine pint of Black Sheep bitter. Life
was good.

The following day I returned all geared up for another hunt.
It was another dry day although rather murky and as I made my way down the
steep hill into this picturesque coastal village I felt pretty optimistic.
However, my optimism was soon dashed by the sight of around forty students who
were attending an organised fossil hunt. They made a fine sight all
resplendently dressed in their high visibility jackets and safety helmets as
they were preparing to skirt the headland.

Now I have nothing against this sort of event – indeed I am
very happy to support them and have done so on numerous occasions but I was
looking for a little solitude this week and decided against sharing their
excursion on this occasion. This left me in something of a quandary but rather
than waste the day I quickly headed out of Staithes and headed back to the cove
for another look but this time for a much more intense look.

I was delighted to see that, yet again, I had the cove to
myself and I soon returned to the productive spot. To be honest I was not
expecting to find too much since I had already gathered a nice collection of
specimens previously, so I made a point of searching those areas that I had
missed and even areas that I thought unproductive because they were so clearly over
exposed.

Again I was delighted to find some more ammonite specimens
throughout the entire exposure and even those spots I had considered probably
not worthy of attention produced the goods. It was another lesson learnt and
proved yet again that closer scrutiny of those spots that appear bereft of fossils
will yield results. Nobody should be surprised by this and I have seen it that time
and time again that a spot that has been searched maybe two or three times in
the space of perhaps an hour will produce a fossil as if it had just been
sitting there fully exposed to a fresh pair of eyes.

I admit to being surprised by my success considering the
finds I had already procured on the two previous occasions and, again, I
ignored many partial ammonites that I may have been tempted to pick up
previously. I then determined it was time to leave for the day for I had truly
scoured every part of this one section and, as I walked back up the cliff, I
decided to visit one more venue the following day – one that had a particular
reputation for being hard to get to but one where the rewards could be
exceptional.

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Saurian is.....

I am an avocational vertebrate palaeontologist with a particular interest in tyrannosaurids. Fossil preparation, conservation and research also feature high on my agenda.
Currently involved in the day to day running of a progressive and exciting research group - we are hopeful of making a positive contribution to our science.